North Korean troops heading toward Ukraine: U.S. [Video]

WASHINGTON –

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment are moving to the Kursk region near Ukraine, in what he called a dangerous and destabilizing development.

Austin was speaking at a press conference in Washington with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, as concerns grow about Pyongyang’s deployment of as many as 11,000 troops to Russia. The U.S. and South Korea say some of the North Korean troops are heading to Russia’s Kursk region on the border with Ukraine, where the Kremlin’s forces have struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion.

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Austin said “the likelihood is pretty high” that Russia will use the North Korean troops in combat.

He said officials are discussing what to do about the deployment, which he said has the potential to broaden …